The present invention relates generally to the field of atomic force microscopy, and more particularly to simulating an interaction of a magnetic recording medium and transducing heads at a constant fly-height.
Atomic-force microscopy (AFM) or scanning-force microscopy (SFM) is a very-high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) forms images of surfaces at the atomic level using a physical probe that scans a sample. The AFM has three major abilities: force measurement, imaging, and manipulation. For imaging, an image of the topography (i.e., three-dimensional shape) of a sample surface at a high resolution forms, based on the reaction of the probe to the forces that the sample imposes on the probe. In manipulation, the forces between the probe and sample can also be used to change the properties of the sample in a controlled way (e.g., atomic manipulation, scanning probe lithography, local stimulation of cells, etc.). Simultaneous with the acquisition of topographical images, other properties (e.g., mechanical properties, electrical properties, etc.) of the sample can be measured locally and displayed as an image, often with similarly high resolution.
A read/write head (e.g., tape head) is a type of transducer used in conjunction with a magnetic medium for storage of information through the conversion of electrical signals to magnetic fluctuations and retrieval through an opposite conversion. The read/write head is separated from the magnetic medium by a distance known as a flying height (e.g., floating height, or head gap). The read/write head consists of a core of magnetic material arranged in a toroid and a narrow gap filled with a diametric material. When a magnetic flux is forced out through the narrow gap of the read write head into the magnetic medium, the magnetic flux magnetizes the magnetic medium.